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Tracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
>>One of the things I noticed with this is that he’s “better” off my right than off my left. Need to put my “good trainer” hat on and do more of these games off my left, can you tell I’m right handed?>>
Holy cow, I relate to this! I turned my teeter around so all the demo videos had to be done from my right side – you might notice that all of the early demos were done on my left side LOL! Oopsie! So now I have to work my right side or I will end up blocking the camera 🙂
He is doing really well with these games!
On the downhills:
You can move with him on the left side reps for now or be out ahead, that is where he was moving through the tip the best. When you were hanging back, he was thinking more about your position. I think that will balance out when he has more experience on the left, an also as you build to the end position. It looks like the board is just a few inches off the ground now, so you can try taking out the metal bar that is catching the teeter, leaving the little uprights as a visual aid: and let the board go to the ground or land on the PVC base. Have him target in position and let him proceed at his own rate as he moves down the board into target position – exciting times ahead!!!The rebound game is also going well – he has a little bit of a threshold in terms of the number of rebounds before he pops off – it increased as the session went on, but to help build the love you can stick to one or 2 rebounds, then release. As he gets happier with it (and more experienced), you can add a little more height to the rebound: he might experience a rebound as much as several inches, so we can get him happy to shove the board back down by gradually introducing more height to the rebounding.
The bang game is going well, I was laughing – the discussions about whether or not he could have the food out ahead was completely taking his mind off of any challenge presented by the movement of the board LOL! Yes, there were a couple of different variables changing that caused some errors (from our perspective) but he got to eat a LOT of cookies, so he seemed happy LOL! And also, you did make progress in the ‘don’t watch the momma’ department 🙂
You can go to an empty food bowl for him to focus on, and then toss or drop the reward into it – that can split the difference between watching you and self-releasing to eat the treats 🙂
I think he is ready for more height on this game too! Especially if the two of you are hashing out when he can get the cookies out ahead, and he doesn’t have to think about the height of the board at all.Great job here! And onwards to the elevator game – I am guess he will do well with the food bowl out ahead for that game too. Start without it so you can get the rewards in fast, then if he is watching you, you can add the bowl target out ahead 🙂
Have fun!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
This is also going well, she likes her end position job a lot! The added height seemed to go well!>>When I set up right next to the board she steps onto the board often with her front feet to push it down and then adds her back feet.>>
Yes, a little – not too bad, though! It is definitely a bit of front-then-rear but then are very close together. Not quite the full leap on, but heading that direction.
Getting her a little wilder with the cone for jumping on is fine to help convince her to jump on 🙂 My only suggestion is to move it closer right to the edge of the bottom of the board, so she jumps on right into position rather than higher then step down. That will help her leap right on into position and also continue to raise value of the end of the board. But overall – she is doing a great job with the end position work and the bang game!! You can keep folding in more height 🙂
Yes, the rebound spooked her a little but note how she got right back on and was fine in the next rep – I heard cheering and praise when she had her “what the heck?” moment and hopefully she also got a cookie or toy – not so much tp reward the position, but mainly to classical condition the rebound of the board with good things happening. The board rebounded on her because she was going fast (yay!) a little forward, reaching for the target – I think the rebound game will help her a lot so you can show her that the board might move under her, but she can push it back down and get paid heartily for it. That is happening with my 35 lb dog who is a bit forward at the moment too – the board is rebounding a solid 6 inches! You’ll see it in the next set of demos – but because he has had a decent amount of rebound game, he just shoves it back down LOL! Emmie probably weighs about the same? So she will get used to shoving it back down with the rebound game.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
These look great too! Tunneling before the teeter added a nice layer of excitement to the game! And right as I was making a note that you can start to fade out the help of your instructor… she was gone LOL! Great minds think alike.
I am happy with how she was driving up the board at :27 and :33 – those were the best about basically going all the way to the end and weight shifting almost at the very top. Yay! Those were also when you were a little ahead and staying in motion. When you decelerated, she was weight shifting sooner. So you can fade the instructor out when you are continuing to move, but I would leave her there for a while longer when you are adding in decel or rear crosses – it is a good focal point for Emmie so she is not trying to read you body language 🙂
The end position will soon be the focal point, but for now we will use her favorite instructor on those reps 🙂
Great job!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! I think we are now getting your rain and fog LOL! Still better than cold and snow 🙂 I will be heading out to video stuff between rain storms today too 🙂
I am SUPER happy with how she did with her downhills to the ground in this video!! She really seems to like the ‘job’ of the end position so the movement of the board is less relevant. Perfect!
>> I have to find a different set up to be able to increase the drop as she was doing really well with the incremental increases on this game. I have a question on this game. Would you replace the table to table game with this one or continue to do table to table?>>
Yes – this game is the ‘end’ of the downhill table-to-table games, where one table would be faded so the board could touch the ground. So at any ‘home base’ training (literally your home, and also the school where I think she is very comfy) – use this new setup to get the incremental drops that we will be building on.
And in these comfy locations, very gradually add a little more tip, every couple of days, with super high value for the ‘job’ of the end position (mixing in LOTS of bang and elevator games too)In new locations – we can consider using the tables again but honestly, I think she is happier doing end position work, so the end position games will help more in new places 🙂
Great job on this one – keep adding tiny bits of tip!
And you can release and throw a toy around, if she finds that super fun too 🙂
Tracy
Tracy Sklenar
KeymasterGood morning!
He is turning into a wild man for the teeter, in the best way! I cracked up when he tried to run up it as you were trying to reset for the next rep LOL!Excellent session here. He seems totally confident – is that the feeling you are getting in the moment? Sometimes it translates differently to video.
A couple of ideas for you:
You can start to let go of the board sooner, so he is moving into position as it is falling. You were saying paw, he was getting into position, then you were letting go. So you can now move to saying paw then letting go immediately, so both Nuptse and the board are moving at the same time. You did this at 1:14 and he was perfectly fine with it (because, treats. LOL!)I like that you moved to the cookie target out ahead rather than from your hands or loaded on to the target. He was great – it added the challenge of getting into position without the help of food right there. No problem, says Nuptse! Good boy. You were more consistent about using your OK release word on those reps, and that is great (your release on the earlier reps was more along the lines of “yay!” LOL!) The clarity of the release will make a big difference!
So on this game, add more height so the board is a little further off the ground.
Also – how is the target fading going on the plank? We will be merging some of the games together, so make sure you revisit the target fading in advance of the new games 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterGood morning!
Definitely an interesting session! This is totally normal: one side is progressing faster than the other side 🙂 The left side sends are ready for the straight poles at 1-2 and probably also a bit of angle at poles 3-4. The right side is not ready for the straight poles 1-2 – I think those need to be a tiny bit open for him, til he gets up past the 90% success range with you sending from all angles and adding motion.
At the moment, his rate of success on the left side sends seems high enough (1 miss, maybe 2? I didn’t do the math LOL!) that you can move to the next step by adding more motion and angling poles 3-4.I did do the math on the right side sends: when the poles are slightly angled, he is working at about 90% rate of success with you not doing a lot of motion. With the straight poles, the rate of success dropped to approx 45%, depending on how we count the offers where he was trying to sort it out (I did do the math on this one LOL!). So I suggest another session on the slightly angled poles 1-2, with motion. And if that is hugh success, you can angle them a tiny bit more – not quite straight, but almost straight: and start up close and personal so he has an easier time bending.
The other thing you can do to help him on that right side is to drop the reward right in between poles 2 and 3. I think poles 3-4 are a no-brainer for him at the moment, easy peasy – but enough of a visual distraction that you can add value to bending between poles 1-2 and dropping the treat on the line between poles 2 and 3 (that would require you being pretty close for accuracy, unless you have great aim LOL!!)
>>So, not quite sure if I should work this a little more – or start adding a little angle to poles 3 & 4 while still working the right side entries?>>
Yes – think of it as 2 distinct behaviors (I am doing this with Elektra at the moment too):
On the right side sends, work towards 2 sessions in a row at 90% success with the poles being angled *almost* straight with you being able to also add motion… then we can straighten them out 🙂
But the left side sends can progress with more angling of poles 3-4! You can separate the sessions: do a minute or two of the left side work, give him a break – then later on and only do right side work. This is all totally normal with young dogs – they always have a stronger side 🙂
>>But he was looking at me a fair bit – but it didn’t stop him from going through 3 & 4.>>
Yes, he was looking back – I think it was the clicker 🙂 Clicks are very compelling so he was looking forward til you clicked, then he looked back at you. The easiest thing to do is not to click LOL! I mean, we can work on getting him to not look at you when you click but that would be done away from the weaves – so with the weaves, you can mark with either a quiet “yes” and then throw, or use a location-specific marker such as “get it” which means a thrown reward out ahead for my dogs.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! She did really well here! Finding the entries with the challenge of more speed from the wings? No problem 🙂 Nice! I think the next session should be with the 2 outer wings moved down a bit – if they were at 10 and 2 on the clock, you can move them to 9 and 3 and then to 8 and 4.
>> No limping, though she did do a lead change or something like that coming around the wing for the first run.>>
Yes, I see what you mean and then also a little something something on the 10 o’clock wing too – but it might be nothing because the more I stare at ANY dog moving, the more I can find “something” wrong LOL!!!! If there a way to et her to a massage or PT person, just to be sure she isn’t sore? That way you will know if it is ok to close the poles more: at this stage, she is doing more brain work than physical work. But as the poles get tighter, it gets more physical. Her brain is ready for that challenge but I want to be sure her body is too. Covid has made it really hard to get the dogs into the hands of the folks who can tell us how they are feeling, though. Keep me posted and let me know what you think!
Tracy
Tracy Sklenar
KeymasterGood morning! He did really well here – there is actual real weaving happening!!! The side wings for the ‘harder’ entries were not harder at all LOL! Those were easier because he was already bending. So for those 2 side wings, you can move them further away so he has more speed between the wing and the entry, to challenge him to go fast then shift his weight.
And his questions on the straight approach… that is exactly why we practice those approaches LOL!!!! Yes, obsessing on the crazy angles is great but we also need the straight approaches 🙂 I think on the misses, there were a couple of variables causing them: you were moving fast and also swinging the toy as you ran (you might not have realized that you were swinging it). The double distraction was too much, so you slowed down and did NOT swing the toy. He got it – so then you added more speed – he got it. Then by the en, you were going fast AND swinging the frizzer – and he got it. Happy dance!
So definitely watch the toy swinging – add it separately from the motion early in your sessions, then build it back together. But that is a big distraction because the straight entries make it MUCH easier to run past the poles when the dog is stimulated! And then bring the ball back into the picture, because it adds a trial-like state of arousal 🙂
You can also add in sending him waaaaay away to the 12 o’clock wing so he has to ‘find’ the entry behind you because you will be passing pole 4. You can start it from a stay and lead out, and at a walk, if you think it will be a head-exploder 🙂
>>I have to say, I am so impressed with his head position, footwork, and exits/forward drive with returning to the 2×2. I did all the clock games in his initial training about a year ago and it looks SO MUCH better this go round. I’m very impressed with the progress.>>
I agree, the progress is impressive!!! Part of it is of course the training being slow and systematic – but also, he is more physically and mentally mature than he was a year ago and that makes a massive difference! My 2 ‘older’ puppies (17 months and 2.5 years) are flying through the progressions and the one year old dog is mentally and physically immature, so I am going much more slowly.
Great job here! Let me know what you think. And what was he doing at the very end? Rolling in dirt? LOL!
Tracy
Tracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
His tugging looks really good, I am glad he felt comfy enough there to tug 🙂 Was he able to tug when you arrived?I like the race to the TnT as a “this is where the reward is”! You can mix in tricks and reward from your hand, then race to the TnT. For the hand touches – when I am using them to try to get engagement, I reward differently than ‘normal’ hand touches: if he touches me hand, even politely: I run and get silly and have him chase me for the cookie. That gets the dogs more engaged than regular hands touches were we feed them standing still. And you can also do the hand touches then tug, if the tug is fun for him at that moment.
Yes, he definitely was acclimating quickly, I agree that you can do another session in the same area.
Have fun and keep me posted!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
>> Ok you’ve convinced me to work more more with verbals. I certainly don’t want to be stuck in the old generation! Lol. Do you think for wrapping left and right just increasing the repetition of the word left/right could signal a tighter turn for the dog. I.e. for a send soft turn it would be “right——— right” but for a closer tight wrap turn the verbal would be a stronger much faster “rightrightriririright”? And same for left. Easier for me but rather is it advisable to have totally different words as you do have?>>
It is possible to do it like that if you can very consistently make them sound different in the heat of the moment: riiiiiight riiiiiiiight riiiiight in a slower, lower tone for example, versus ririririri in more of a soft choppy tone. I personally didn’t want the dogs to rely on my ability to be quiet delivering verbals (that is NOT a strength for me LOL!) so I have different words.
>>As far as the come in- go out nature of the parallel chest I’m not totally clear. Am I correct in thinking that in the backside send we are emphasizing more the “go out” element of the cue
In that particular context, the line from the tunnel to the jump takes car of the come in element so it is easier to get it. And yes, we are emphasizing the go back out. On the more traditional serps, we need both the come in-go out because the dog is not on a direct line to the come in part of the jump, it is much easier to run past it on a parallel line (where in the Lines class sequences, very few dogs would consider running past the jump after the tunnel and before the backside.
>>while the SERP/threadle situation emphasizes the entire come in then go out elements of the cue.>>
yes – because the context in these puppy games actually presents a harder “come in” while also challenging the go out element.
>>But then againWe also use can use the outside bent arm threadle cue to emphasize “come in”.
Yes! A serpentine is “come in on the jump, go out on the flat” (although ideally our use of shoulders cues the dog that the go out is coming so the dog can adjust before takeoff). The threadle is the opposite: come in on the flat, then go out on the jump. And the use of opposite arm (or the dog-side arm, as many folks do in the ‘open door’ threadles) is different too, which changes the shoulder position. On threadles, the opposite arm (if that is what is being used) it higher (near the dog side shoulder) and goes to the dogs eyes, which rotates the chest to the dog more (not the jump, like in serps, or to the line, like in the ‘get out’. And when we use the opposite arm for the get out (like convincing the dogs to move away for a backside) – it is out ahead of the body, more at waist height, and pointing to the line or wing of the jump we are pushing the dog out to. Plus, different verbals 🙂
Back when the shutdowns started, we did an opposite arm class: all the different ways the outside arm can be used! It is fascinating that it can be used 6 or 7 different ways, and the dog reads them all easily!
Let me know if that makes sense! There is a lot to obsess on here LOL!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! Great job getting value on the wing so you can leave sooner!! I think she is a righty so the right turns on just the wing were easy peasy for her. The left turns were a little harder, so feel free to support the send with a step to the wing. Your right leg was back so you can step forward with it to help her find the left turn. You can do that too on the right turns (step forward with the dog side leg) but you can also start further away on that side. The left turn side will catch up quickly and then you can add distance too 🙂
The wing to jump is also looking good! The right turns were also better than the left turns here – so on the right turns, you can start her closer and step to the wing, before turning and moving to the jump.She did really well finding the jump! You can add a little more distance between the wing and the jump, and also move the wing a little to one side so you can wrap her and then keep moving fast the wing (it looked like you were getting a little stuck in front of the bar :))
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi Heather!
I agree, less is ALWAYS more in training, especially with baby dogs.
I love how you came into the session with a lot of play and engagement! It made the skill training sooooo much easier because you had his complete attention 🙂 And it is smart to include the leash because getting the leash off is a critical part of the sports future 🙂The first rep looked great. As you start the second rep, you left the send to the wing a tiny bit too early so he came with you – but then nailed it right after that. He is driving ahead nicely and your toy throws are spot on! Must be all the disc throwing?
My only suggestion is to keep moving as you say go and throw the toy, so he doesn’t begin to ignore deceleration (spoiler, we add decel soon LOL!). So keep running until he lands form the jump (but keep the same toy throw timing, I know, I am a pain haha :))On your next session, you can play with starting next to the wing and waiting there til he gets around it: then you can start driving forward to teach him to drive ahead of you.
Great job building the stay in front of the jump into it, so he had a 3 obstacle sequence. You nailed it twice with beautiful connection and also patience to let him commit. Then… session over. Perfect!
Great job here! The other thing you can add is more distance between the wing and the jump: he looks ready 🙂
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterThe lockdown rules are a bit confusing! I was trying to follow along on Facebook. I hope the floodgates open for the vaccine like they did here and the Canadians can come through this quickly!!!!!! I had my 2nd vaccine yesterday and I am definitely having a reaction. Oy.
I am excited for the equipment going outside! When he sees the teeter outside for the first time, assume that it is like the very first training session and make it a really small tip – maybe it is too easy, but that is better than getting him concerned. I think he will be fine, but better to be sure 🙂
Keep me posted!Tracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! Excellent news about the one hit wonders. And yes, they do begin to recognize the tripod and camera!!! Buggers LOL!!!!
Yes, the elevator game can be a pain in the patootie because 3 arms are required LOL!! How much does he weigh? He is probably right on the cusp on being too heavy and only kinda heavy LOL!!! For the 2 hand hold, you can smear a little tiny bit of cheese right at the end of the board so when he leaps on and your hands are busy – he can leap on, lick the smear (peanut butter is good too for this) – then you can do your countdown and let go of the board. When he arrives in target position, you can whip the reward out (you might be able to hold the reward in one of the board holding hands? But to get the mechanics started, I am perfectly fine if the reward is pre-placed on the target 🙂
The video here is his lovely weave video – can you repost the elevator game video and we will sort out the mechanics 🙂
Tracy
Tracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! I think we are all in the same boat after this long hiatus from going places! But I am confident Cowboy will work through the distractions 🙂
Question – when the video started, what happened before to get him engaged? Or did you bring him right into training?
If he came right into the training session, you can start each session with an engagement game: basically, you ask for a trick and then give a high energy reward. You do 5 or 6 in a row, then assess his readiness. Is he looking at you? Little tail wagging? If so, then you can go into the more complex tricks known as ‘weaves’ 🙂If you did bring him in with engagement games, you might need to go with more action and get him more pumped up. My youngest dog needs to dance on her back feet, bark, spin, chase me… then she is ready to focus in a new environment.
And the more you play these engagement games, the easier it is to get engagement 🙂 If you did start like that, let me know what you did and we can figure out what works or what needs more excitement.
You were very smart to break the session down and make the weave game easier: the environment was REALLY hard so making the weaves easier was smart 🙂 And it helped him! I think adding the wings here actually helped get the engagement, because he really likes the action of zipping around the wings!
So with the youngsters, especially after this long year, engagement will become top priority. And for skills, always start him off several steps easier than what he can do at your home base. If he struggles with the environment, having the skills be easier will set him up for success. And if he does NOT struggle, the easy skills are a great jumpstart and then you can quickly make it harder :
Great job recognizing this and setting him up for success – being able to ‘read the room’ like you did is a sign of excellent dog training skills!!!!
Tracy
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